FAQs for Prospective Students

Here you can find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions that prospective students send us. Just click the + icon on each block to reveal information about each section.

PLEASE NOTE: UniversityAdmissions are solely responsible for assessing your documents and eligibility. Do not send the university your documents directly, or request an eligibility assessment.

Universities across Sweden have different requirements for what documents you need to submit when applying for a master's programme. Örebro University has a basic list of documents needed to assess your application, listed below.

You are welcome to submit additional documents to UniversityAdmissions - however, Örebro University does not currently require you to submit recommendation/motivation letters or a CV with your application.

You need to provide your bachelor degree certificate/diploma if you have already graduated, from the country/countries where you studied.

There are certain criteria that your degree must fulfil to be eligible:

  • The university that issued the degree must be an internationally recognised higher education institution.
  • The certificate/diploma must be be officially issued by a representative of the Academic Registrar's Office, the Examinations Office, or the equivalent office that issues official transcripts of records at your university. If you submit copies of your documents via regular post, they must be certified true copies of these documents. When uploading, be sure to scan your officially issued documents in colour.
  • You must always submit your certificate/diploma in the official language of the country where you studied. If this language is not Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, English, French or German, you must also provide an official translation of the certificate/diploma. This translation should be in Swedish or English.
  • If you have graduated but not received your certificate/diploma, you must submit an official statement from your university stating that you have finished your studies and will be receiving your diploma. 

There are other individual requirements depending on the country - we advise checking the individual requirements here:

UniversityAdmissions - Country-Specific Document Instructions

You must provide official transcripts showing completed courses and grades for each semester included in your bachelor degree. Any transferred courses from previous studies need separate official transcripts.

  • You must always submit your transcripts in the official language of the country where you studied. If this language is not Swedish, Danish, Norwegian or English, you must also provide an official translation. This translation should be in Swedish or English.
  • The documents must be officially issued by a representative of the Academic Registrar's Office, the Examinations Office, or the equivalent office that issues official transcripts of records at your university. If you submit copies of your documents via regular post, they must be certified true copies of these documents. When uploading, be sure to scan your officially issued documents in colour.

Certain countries have specific requirements regarding what documents are required and how they should be submitted. Be sure to check the information for your country of study for information and instructions:

UniversityAdmissions - Country-Specific Document Instructions

You can use the English language checker below to help you with proving your proficiency. However, there is also a lot of information about this requirement that can be found here:

UniversityAdmissions - English Language Proficiency

You need to provide UniversityAdmissions with a copy of the page in your passport with your personal data and photograph, or some other form of identification document.

Alternative ID documents can be country-specific. If you do not currently have your passport, you can contact UniversityAdmissions directly to ask about providing alternative identification:

UniversityAdmissions - Contact Us

 

Additional Information

UniversityAdmissions will handle all documents provided - regardless of which programme you apply for, your name must match on all documents submitted. In order for your documents to be accepted:

  • The name provided on all your documents must be the same (ID, transcripts, degree certificate, etc.)
  • The name on your documents must match the name you reported in your account at Universityadmissions.se

If your name is different to the documents provided - for example, you have legally changed your name since receiving the documents - you must provide UniversityAdmissions with documentation (for example, a marriage certificate if you've been married) as to why the names do not match.

Most documents can simply be uploaded to UniversityAdmissions with your application, but please check the guidelines in detail to see if any documents need to be submitted by post:

UniversityAdmissions - Instructions for master's applicants

PLEASE NOTE: your individual circumstances may affect your eligilibity, and this checker is not an official status confirmation - you can contact UniversityAdmissions directly if you require official confirmation.

All of our master's programmes have tuition and application fees, but not every student is required to pay them. You can use this unofficial checker to help understand if you qualify for fee exemption.

If you have citizenship from any country in the EU or EEA (including Sweden) - or you are a Swiss citizen - you are exempt from tuition and application fees. You will need to prove your citizenship and exemption by submitting the correct documents to UniversityAdmissions.

More information about this can be found here:

Criteria for Fee Exemption

If you have a permanent residency permit, or a temporary permit granted for reasons other than study (eg. work), you are not required to pay tuition or application fees.

More information about this can be found here:

Am I required to pay?

This can sometimes mean that you are exempt from paying tuition or application fees.

It is recommended that you contact The Migration Agency, and submit your completed application - with documents - to allow UniversityAdmissions to assess your status.

You will likely be required to pay tuition and application fees. There are no exemptions for the application fee, which is required by the end of January.

If you need support with your tuition fees, there are scholarship options available each year, that can be found here:

https://www.oru.se/english/study/master-students/scholarships/

PLEASE NOTE: your individual circumstances may affect your eligilibity, and this checker is not an official status confirmation - you can contact UniversityAdmissions directly if you require official confirmation.

All of our master's programmes are taught in English - you will need to provide proof of English language proficiency with your application. There are several ways you can prove this proficiency. You can use this unofficial checker to help understand if you have the right documentation to prove this.

There are certain officially recognised tests that you can take to prove your English language proficiency. These are:

  • IELTS Academic / IELTS UKVI
  • TOEFL iBT
  • Cambridge Michigan Language Assessments
  • Pearson PTE Academic
  • University of Cambridge ESOL

If you do not have the required score(s) in one of the above tests, you will need to prove your English language proficiency via another method.

More information about the score requirements can be found here:

UniversityAdmissions - Internationally Recognised English Tests

(As of September 2019, all of our programmes require the equivalent to 'English 6' or 'English B' minimum. You can check the individual programme page on our website for the full entry requirements.)

Depending on your university studies, you may be able to use your higher education documents as proof of English language proficiency. There is no easy answer to an individual's eligibility when using these documents however.

Generally though, if you have one of the following, you may be able to use your degree as proof of English language proficiency:

  • Bachelor degree with English as language of instruction
  • Bachelor degree with English as the main subject

You can check the list of exemptions - and individual country requirements - here:

UniversityAdmissions - Previous University Studies as Proof of English

In some cases, your high school (upper secondary) studies can be used as proof of English language proficiency. These cases are typically country-dependent.

You can check the list of countries here to see whether your high school education helps you meet the English language proficiency requirements:

UniversityAdmissions - Country-Based English Language Proficiency

If you do not meet the English language proficiency requirements from one of the above methods, you are unlikely to qualify for the programme of choice.

However, if you have submitted your application in good time, you may be able to take one of the recognised tests and receive a score in time - your test documents would need to be submitted by the end of January to be considered.

UniversityAdmissions - Internationally Recognised English Tests

PLEASE NOTE: your individual circumstances may affect your choice of accommodation, and this checker is not to be used as official confirmation - you can contact our Housing Office directly with any queries about our housing and support.)

In Sweden, it is not always easy to find accommodation - especially as an incoming international student! Our Housing Office is therefore ready every year to help accepted students secure accommodaton for the length of their studies.

You can use this checker to help understand what your accommodation needs could be - this will help you later on when applying for housing support, if offered a study place.

Contact us at This is an email address

If you intend to live as an individual, you can apply for single occupancy accommodation on our campus. Each room is fitted with an en-suite bathroom, with shared kitchen or kitchenette options available.

Once you have been offered a study place, you will have a month to apply for accommodation. If you do not submit an application in time, you would need to secure your own accommodation - which is not typically possible until you have arrived in Sweden.

See also Student Accommodation

If you are intending to relocate to Sweden for study with your family, our Housing office can sometimes support you with finding private accommodation suitable for your family.

To receive this support, you can apply for private accommodation for:

  • A spouse and/or
  • Up to two children

Please ensure you submit an application for private accommodation support within a month of receiving your study place offer.

See also Student Accommodation

IMPORTANT:

If you intend to bring more family with you to live together, you will not be able to receive support from our Housing office to find accommodation.

If you separately do not make clear how many family members you intend to bring with you when applying for housing, you may have your accommodation contract cancelled.

Our campus accommodation is not suited for families, and our rooms are intended for single occupancy living only.

If you live on campus and bring family members to Sweden after commencing studies, you may have your campus housing contract terminated and you will need to find private accommodation.

If you are travelling to Sweden and you have family already living in Sweden that you intend to live with, you will need to make sure that their housing contract accommodates additional occupants.

Separately, you will need to ensure that this housing arrangements fulfills the criteria of your student visa. You should contact The Migration Agency in advance to find out more information about this:

Migrationsverket - Studying in Sweden

If you intend not to use our Housing Office accommodation support, you will need to ensure that you have accommodation secured for the length of your studies.

Students are expected to attend lectures and seminars throughout their studies, and this can be difficult without secured accommodation in suitable distance of campus.

There are private housing companies who you can rent from, but their costs can be significantly higher than student housing, and you would need to discuss with them the terms of your living arrangements separately.

You can visit StudyinSweden's guide on living in Sweden as a student for more information:

StudyinSweden - Student Accommodation in Sweden

How do I apply?
You apply through www.universityadmissions.se, you will find all information about the application process under the tab “Find out more”.

What scholarships are available?
You can find information about different types of scholarships for our master's programmes on our Scholarships page.

Am I eligible to study my programme of interest?
We are sorry, but we cannot evaluate your eligibility before a complete application is made - this is done through www.universityadmissions.se.

What does ECTS mean?
ECTS stands for "European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System". This is the system that European countries typically use to help students move between countries for study, and have their academic qualifications abroad recognised.

60 ECTS are the equivalent of a full year of study. A bachelor's degree (first cycle) usually consists of 180 of 240 ECTS credits. Most master's programmes (second cycle) in Sweden require a minimum of 180 ECTS credits - three years of higher education study.

If you have a GPA score, there is no direct conversion to ECTS - you should instead look first at whether you passed all of the courses at the bachelor level to get an idea of your credits count. Contact UniversityAdmissions directly for further advice.

More information about the ECTS can be found here: European Commission - ECTS 

Can I work while studying?
Any student only studying for one year will likely not be able to work at all, as you require a personal ID number (personnummer) to be able to work and pay taxes. To apply for a Swedish personal ID number you must provide proof that you will be in the country for more than 12 months.

If you are studying a two-year programme, there are occasionally some part-time jobs available, but this is not guaranteed. For students requiring a visa, you will need to have funds to support yourself during your whole studies to meet the visa funding requirements. You should not be reliant on work to support your study or living costs.

Can I transition to PhD studies easily after graduating from a master's programme?
Some of our master's programmes are embedded within institutions with numerous research positions frequently available. Our programmes are also often research-oriented, which will help you if you intend to continue studying after graduating.

That being said, it is not guaranteed - your primary focus should be on completing your master's study, while your secondary focus can be discussing PhD options with your programme leader during your studies.

What are my career prospects after graduating?
Each master's programme prepares you in different ways for careers within your chosen field of study. However, if you intend to work in Sweden specifically after graduating, you will most likely need to have a good understanding of the Swedish language to secure work.

Students who are eligible for a personal number can gain access to free Swedish lessons offered by the government. This will give you the opportunity to learn Swedish outside of your studies, to help prepare you for working in Sweden after graduating.

Students that do not have a Swedish personal ID number (personnummer) will not be able to access this service, so would need to look at ways to learn the language separately and find employers who can support their application for a personal ID number after graduating.

If you require further assistance, please email This is an email address.